Movie Summary of Solitary Man by Michael The Moviegoer.
SOLITARY MAN = ***1/2
“A Philandering Philanthropist”
At 60-years old, Michael Douglas’ character in “Solitary Man” is nearly as old as the Neil Diamond song this film takes its title from. When a routine doctor’s office visit suggests something might be wrong with his heart (an interesting metaphor), Douglas, fearing death and old age, begins having affairs with teenage girls.
Douglas plays a washed-up car salesman named Ben Kalmen. His issues with age are evident early on when he asks his young grandson to call him dad instead of grandpa. Kalmen has the mentality of a man 30 years younger than the body he feels trapped in.
Kalmen once owned a successful car dealership and donated millions of dollars for a university library. But he lost it all in a financing scam gone wrong.
His world begins to unravel further after he sleeps with the 18-year old daughter of his girlfriend, Mary-Louise Parker. He also has an affair with the friend of his own daughter. In this haunting portrait of chronic loneliness, the downward spiral of this philandering philanthropist just continues spinning faster toward total self-destruction.
Brian Koppelman’s screenplay is talkey but insightful. There are choice conversations between Douglas and several outstanding supporting actors including Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon and Jesse Eisenberg. This psychological character study gives Douglas the juciest role he’s had in years.
DVD Double Feature: Do you remember the quickly-forgotten Matthew McConaughey film “Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past”? I kinda liked this raunchy, sexy re-imagining of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. Stealing the movie though is Michael Douglas’ character of Uncle Wayne. He’s a legendary womanizing playboy. And although here he plays it for laughs, in “Solitary Man” he’s almost the exact same character, but this time playing up the drama for sympathy. The contrast between these two characters shines a light on just what a magnificent character actor Michael Douglas has become.
Michael The Moviegoer
